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I used to joke that I had more bitcoins than I could spend in my lifetime. Not because I had a lot, but because there was fuck all to spend them on. I just pai

I used to joke that I had more bitcoins than I could spend in my lifetime. Not because I had a lot, but because there was fuck all to spend them on. I just paid for my lunch in Bitcoin. Not as some evangelical, cryptanarchistic statement, but because I have bitcoins and I needed lunch. The mechanism for paying is on a par with credit cards, if not slightly above. I've watched the monetary value of my bitcoins plunge in the last year, but I've seen their practical value to me increase massively. A year ago I could buy precisely zero lunches for 1 BTC, now I'd get at least 50.

rhizome31 12y ago
Where can we buy tangible stuff with bitcoins? Is it only in the USA?
- AlexMuir 12y ago
  I'm in Budapest and there are now two bars and a restaurant that take Bitcoin.
- cyphunk 12y ago
  more likely to find more places to buy bitcoin outside the US than inside. In Berlin and there are at least 5 resturants and a dozen other stores of various wares one can use them.
mootothemax 12y ago
The mechanism for paying is on a par with credit cards, if not slightly above. Was it really easier than taking out your credit/debit card and "beeping" it against the card reader? (i.e. PayPass/payWave). Whilst I'm all in favour of pushing new technologies, I simply can't imagine that paying by bitcoin was easier than that!
- AlexMuir 12y ago
  I've never once paid by Paywave, even though I think I have it on all my cards. I don't know if it's a European thing but despite all the tech being installed it just hasn't seen much adoption - I know no-one who uses it. We're still firmly chip and pin. From a business's perspective though, Bitcoin is immeasurably easier. No approval needed, just buy a £100 android tablet and off you go. Funds available immediately. Compare that to going down the bank and grovelling for them to let you take cards. Obviously it's not close to an alternative yet, but it's an easier flow.

rhizome31 12y ago

Where can we buy tangible stuff with bitcoins? Is it only in the USA?

AlexMuir 12y ago
I'm in Budapest and there are now two bars and a restaurant that take Bitcoin.
cyphunk 12y ago
more likely to find more places to buy bitcoin outside the US than inside. In Berlin and there are at least 5 resturants and a dozen other stores of various wares one can use them.

mootothemax 12y ago

The mechanism for paying is on a par with credit cards, if not slightly above. Was it really easier than taking out your credit/debit card and "beeping" it against the card reader? (i.e. PayPass/payWave). Whilst I'm all in favour of pushing new technologies, I simply can't imagine that paying by bitcoin was easier than that!

AlexMuir 12y ago
I've never once paid by Paywave, even though I think I have it on all my cards. I don't know if it's a European thing but despite all the tech being installed it just hasn't seen much adoption - I know no-one who uses it. We're still firmly chip and pin. From a business's perspective though, Bitcoin is immeasurably easier. No approval needed, just buy a £100 android tablet and off you go. Funds available immediately. Compare that to going down the bank and grovelling for them to let you take cards. Obviously it's not close to an alternative yet, but it's an easier flow.